"People still expect hatred between us": Stefanos Tsitsipas puts to bed mooted feud with Daniil Medvedev after practice session

Stefanos Tsitsipas puts controversies with Daniil Medvedev behind and opens up about their rivalry after a joint practice session in Indian Wells. Two of the best tennis players in recent years have engaged in thrilling matches and various controversies throughout their careers.

Whenever Medvedev and Tsitsipas face each other, it adds a special element for fans due to various controversies that began in their first encounter at the 2018 Miami Open when both were outside the top 50 at 22 and 19 years old, respectively.

In that tense match, Tsitsipas called Medvedev a "bullshit Russian" at the net, and in response, the Russian said, "Man, you better shut your f*ck up, okay?" Medvedev also complained because his opponent took a long bathroom break and was bothered that Tsitsipas didn't apologize for hitting the net cord during a point.

Since the controversy in Miami, they have verbally clashed several times, but the Greek player mentioned that it's something left in the past. Now, in Indian Wells, they were seen practicing together, indicating at least some cordiality between them.

"It's a long history, I mean what whatever happened uh how many years ago was that like 10 years ago (laughing). I guess yeah it was a long time ago. I guess people still expect some sort of controversy or uh hatred between us two but uh this has been long gone uh and not something that I focus too much on these days actually."

In 2019, both players acknowledged their challenging relationship. "Our chemistry definitely isn’t the best that you can find on the tour ... It's not that I hate him [but] we will not go to dinner together," Tsitsipas said.

On the other hand, Medvedev expressed that they respect each other as tennis players but not necessarily on a personal level: “I think we respect each other as players but probably not so much on a personal level ... We don't have any sort of relationship at all, I would say."

Throughout their 13 encounters, both players have had several disagreements, with Medvedev leading the head-to-head by 9-4. Another memorable moment was during the semifinal of the 2022 Australian Open, where Medvedev shouted at the umpire about the coaching from Apostolos Tsitsipas: "His father can talk every point? Bro, are you stupid? His father can talk every point?! ... Can his father talk every point?!"

Both players have delivered strong performances at Indian Wells so far, and are gearing up for their respective third-round matches. On one hand, the 4th seed Medvedev will face the local 29th seed Sebastian Korda, while the 12th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on the American Frances Tiafoe (18th seed).